Raiders victory and Chiefs loss highlights weird week in AFC West

So the Raiders won, the Chiefs lost and the Chargers were defeated by the Broncos. Let’s dive into a wild week in the AFC West.

Welcome back, Addicts. Oh. My. Goodness. What a week of football!

I’ve had the Monday night match-up between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams circled on my calendar since it was first announced, and boy, it did not disappoint. To say that I yelled loudly enough for neighbors to hear would be an understatement, but before we get to the game of all games, let’s take a peek at the wild AFC West and how an upside-down Week 11 shook out.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Los Angeles Chargers took on the Denver Broncos on Sunday in Carson, California. The Chargers were heavily favored in this AFC West divisional matchup. The Broncos were coming off the last second missed field goal by Brandon McManus against the Houston Texans while the Chargers were riding a six-game winning streak and were the new darlings of sports media. The Broncos had lost their last six of seven. You can understand why the Chargers were favored.

However, it wasn’t to be. The Chargers were handed their third loss of the season by none other than Brandon McManus, who hit a last-second field goal putting the Broncos on top, 23-22. Philip Rivers made mistakes in this game that ultimately cost the Chargers.

As the seconds ticked by towards the end of the game, the Chargers had the ball and the Broncos defense needed a stop. They came up with one and Rivers made a bone-headed mistake. Rather than taking a sack and letting the clock continue to run (the Broncos had no timeouts), Rivers threw an incomplete pass, stopping the clock. That left just enough time for none other than Case Keenum to drive the Broncos down the field into field goal range. McManus hit a 34-yard game winning field goal and the Chargers could only watch from the sideline.

The Chargers’ loss was assisted by two interceptions, 14 penalties, and a missed extra point. The interception kept the Broncos in the game and the missed extra point allowed the Broncos to come out on top rather than send the game into overtime. The Chargers weren’t even assisted by the return of pro-bowler Joey Bosa. He had been sidelined for the first nine games of the season with a bone bruise to his left foot. His return wasn’t enough to push the Chargers to a win. Melvin Gordon had a great outing logging 158 yards from scrimmage and the sixth straight game with 130 yards or more.

The Chargers lost defensive tackle Corey Liuget in the second quarter. It appeared to be a knee injury at the time, and it turned out to be the worst case scenario. Liuget was lost for the season after suffering a torn quad tendon. With this loss, the Chargers still remain in second place in the AFC West and with a strong hold on a wild-card playoff spot, but it seems that the suspicions of some were confirmed: the Chargers may not be as great as people wanted to believe.

Next week, the Chargers host the struggling Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are coming off a loss to the Raiders and are working towards securing the first overall pick in the 2019 draft. I would anticipate the Chargers pick up a win this week and bring their record up to 8-3. Game time is 3:05 p.m.